HAPPY NEW YEAR to all our friends!!!

It is close to midnight - our time!

We are having sushi, champange and listening to great reggae ... and enjoying the evening.

Have a great year 2011!!!

Dear friends - we are thinking about you - missing you!

H&M

It took us a little while to get in the mood of Christmas this year: we were just back from Panama and Christmas decorations had to be put up! We had already invited my sister to come and spend Christmas with us so I (Marleyne) decided to cook turkey! Liette likes it so much..and Heiner's recent experiences in the Caribean made ihm more "fowl friendly" ! After perusing in cookbooks and on the Internet for hours to find out which stuffing would be the best, we went shopping for the perfect bird: and we came home with an already stuffed turkey which was to be put in the oven forzen...no work at all, no previous experience required! Well, there was a bit of science required as none of my friends had ever cooked a bird like this! Anyhow, everything worked out perfectly: it was juicy and tasty! During Liette's visit we took some walks despite the cold weather! We played scrabbles (she won) and looked at movies!

Voila la visite de ma petite soeur deja une chose du passe: sa venue - qui etait deja planifiee - nous a motive a decorer la maison! car etant a peine revenus de Panama, le "mood" de Noel etait un peu long a venir! La dinde fut reussie...savoureuse malgre mon manque d'experience dans la chose...Nous nous sommes bien amuses malgre le temps froid: on a popote, pris des aperos, des digestifs, regarde un film et joue au scrabble (Liette a gagne)!

Noel has come and gone...Lindsay and Karen had come on December 23rd to celebrate their last day of work ! They brought a beautiful bouquet of flowers which is still cheering up the room! The evening was fun! We had pork loin and red cabbage..with lots of wine!

Nos celebrations des fetes ont commence par la visite de nos amis Karen et Lindsay ...ils celebraient aussi leur derniere journee de travail cette annee! On a bien arrose ca! Et merci pour les fleurs!

Pour un recit en francais...allez sur le site de Voyages Forum ou j'ai publie un petit carnet de voyages...http://voyageforum.com/v.f?post=3870074;page=unread#unread

One week away from Christmas, we wish all our readers a very merry Christmas ! In the spirit of Panama, Feliz Navidad!

The plan had been all along to join our friends aboard Songbird for a cruise of the San Blas islands. We met them in Colon and made our way along the Caribbean coast to Portobelo, Puerto Linton and then Chichime, in the Kuna Yala. By that time, rain and winds had set in and kept us from moving along in the San Blas archipel. As previously mentioned, this was a truly exceptional weather...so there are only few pictures! Lucky that the Kunas visited us shortly after our arrival: we were able to buy some of their molas. We stayed 5 days in the Chichime anchorage and this allowed us to get a glimpse of their daily lives!

Another facet of Panama are its mountains. Santa Fe is a lost village in the Cordillera Central...coffee growers, farmers, cowboys, mostly indios...many Ngobe Indians live here. We went swimming in the river, hiked to Alto Piedra and were amazed at the beauty of the landscapes. Imagine the aroma of freshly roasted coffee in the morning, the jasmine perfume at night, and butterflies of all sizes and colours ...this is Santa Fe!http://geology.com/world/panama-satellite-image.shtml

We enjoyed traveling by bus in Panama: the system works! All buses are ponctual, comfortable and reach the most outlandish destinations! Leavinf from Albrook terminal in Panama city, we first made our way to Chitre, in the Azuelo peninsula...(Pacific side). This region is not very touristic; in the Carnival season in February, the fiestas attract mostly Panameans. At other times, it is really quiet, with people working in fields, or milking their cows for Nestle!
http://www.epictrip.com/map/Chitre-Map-Panama-Area-Maps-of-Chitre-map-l57642.html

Panama was a real discovery for us: a crude juxtaposition of old and new, of americanized and authentic indigenous culture, of wilderness and urbanism!

Nowhere was the contrast more stunning than in Panama city!

At last out of Kuna Yala...Few words. Are necessary to describe our last week cruising:Rain, rain, and more rain! For 7 days non - stop Torrential rain to the point that people died in landslides, major roads were destructed and the Panama Canal closed down! Yesterday morning at 5:30 our friends Pam and Bill got up with us and brought us to land by dinghy in total darkness! El Provenir is a liliputian airport with a very very short landing strip... Around 8:00am we finally see the twin engine 15 seaters circling our small island and landing! (Yesterday it touched down but did not land due to the strip being under water). So in the mean time about 30 passengers had congregated around the plane and pushing their ways to get on!Kuna indians, backpackers, cruisers. ..the pilot of Air panama had a short list and started calling out names of the few lucky ones! And the rain started falling like nails! It was avery tense moment. ...who would get on? People who had not gone on yesterday or the ones who had reserved for Saturday? What a relief when both our names were called! We took place at the back and felt sad for the folks who stood under the rain!
So after a relatively smooth flight, we arrived in Pan.city where the sun was shining! Wow!
We are currently at the Costa Inn and have a great room onthe sixth floor overlooking the city with views of the Pacific !
All should go well until our return flight tomorrow.(Except that we forgot our shoes on our friends boat...will there be sandal type weather in Canada on Monday?)

We are on a sailboat again! We met Pam and Bill as planned at the Nautico Club in Colon after a very long day of bus travel...that first beer of the day was sooooo good!

After a large grocery trip at the supermercado, we left the next day for Portobelo *see picture of another travel blog and are sitting here under the rain...There are many low pressure systems on the Caribbean side and on the Pacific side and it rains non stop! Oh! well...we are with friends and on a boat and we like it. Portobelo is pretty amazing with its fortress and customs house. Lots of history here! http://www.portobelopanama.com/">

Weather permitting, we will sail to the San Blas islands on Monday...we are looking forward to see those islands and their famous inhabitants..the Kunas which we already met in a urban context of Panama City...but the San Blas is their country so it will be adding another dimension!

Hasta luego!